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The Ohio State Buckeyes lost a legend on Thursday, as it was announced that John Havlicek passed away. He was 79 years old.
It is with great sadness we have learned that Celtics Legend and Hall of Famer John Havlicek has passed away peacefully today at the age of 79. He will be dearly missed by his Celtics family.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 26, 2019
A statement from the Celtics: https://t.co/yqOkZPkbej pic.twitter.com/xlUCKjbKvg
In his Ohio State days, Havlicek was a star. Part of the national championship team in 1960, which is still OSU’s lone title, Havlicek added more accolades before being drafted No. 7 overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1962 NBA Draft. His jersey number (No. 5) is retired by the Buckeyes, and he picked up AP Third Team All-America honors in 1961 and consensus Second Team All-America honors in 1962.
With the Boston Celtics, his legend continued. He won eight NBA championships, was named Finals MVP in 1974, and was named an All-Star 13 times. On top of being named first team All-NBA five times, “Hondo” also had one of the most memorable plays in NBA Playoff history—the steal of Hal Greer’s pass in Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals.
When he retired from basketball in 1978, his No. 17 jersey — the number he wore for the Celtics — was retired, and he stood as the career leader in games played (1270). He ended his career with 26,395 points, 8,007 rebounds, and 476 steals.
Our condolences to the Havlicek family.